“I’m pretty much done talking about that, man.” Sherman said when asked about Crabtree in a recent appearance on NFL Network. “It’s getting old. It’s getting old for me. I’m tired of people asking me about it.”

Sherman’s boredom is understandable, as his verbal prowess certainly isn’t the only feather in his cap.

The fourth-year corner has more than proven his mettle on the field, where he led the league in interceptions the past two seasons while helping the Seahawks to the first Super Bowl title in team history. His peers added to his honors this week, naming him the No. 7 player in the league in NFL Network’s annual “Top 100″ program on Wednesday.

But Sherman has also repeatedly demonstrated his ability to berate an opponent, with Crabtree as the prime example — along with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, perhaps (U mad, bro?). Sherman eviscerated Crabtree, San Francisco’s first-round draft pick in 2009, in his now-legendary post-game rant after Sherman’s tipped ball led to Malcolm Smith’s game-clinching interception in January’s NFC Championship Game.

“It’s much more of just, I don’t like the dude,” Sherman said in the episode. “You know what I’m saying? And I think he’s sorry. So it’s really what it comes down to.”

“I hope to play him every year for the rest of my career and choke him out,” Sherman said later. “There’s not much else I can say about the subject. Nobody will understand it but him and me.”

When asked about those comments, Crabtree declined to elaborate on the subject and avoided mentioning Sherman by name.

“I’m getting (tired of) talking about these guys,” he said on ESPN’s “NFL Live” on Thursday. “I concentrate on football. I love football. This my life, you know what I’m saying? So I don’t really have too much to prove when it comes to talking on this TV.”

But Sherman’s outburst caught the attention of many observers, including CBS Sports’ Gregg Doyel, who called out Sherman for his latest verbal barrage. Doyel argued that Sherman needed to work on his impulse control and that he’s done himself no favors in the public eye by continuing his beef with Crabtree in public.

“Richard Sherman isn’t nearly as smart he thinks he is,” Doyel wrote of the Stanford graduate. “Because smart people, after turning victory into defeat as stunningly as Sherman did in January, don’t keep running up the score. And he has. On himself.”

While Doyel certainly ignored some of the social implications of Sherman’s January outburst — when Sherman helped turn the rant and it’s reaction into a public discourse about race in sports — it’s undeniable that Sherman’s persona is inextricably linked with his propensity for bluster.

Perhaps Sherman’s refusal to talk about Crabtree this week is a step in changing that image.